1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an integrated workstation for office systems, and more particularly to a linkable desk and storage unit having compatible wire management systems, especially usable for desks having adjustable work surfaces.
2. Background of the Invention
Modern office floor plans increasingly call for an open office furniture system wherein free standing furniture elements are linked together to form work space areas for the individual workers. Typically, modular desk units are combined to form a work space area in which individual components are attached to the desk units to form a personalized work space. These desk units often comprise an L-shape. Modular office panel systems are well known in the art such as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,698 to Morrison, which patent is assigned to the present assignee and is hereby incorporated by reference herein. As is common practice, interchangable wall panels can be connected together in a myriad of configurations so as to provide the desired work space. Within the work space, desktop work areas and storage units, such as drawers or shelves, can be attached to the wall panels so as to personalize the work space for the individual. With these prior art systems, in order to provide sufficient storage capacity, these drawers and shelves can be attached to the wall panels either above or below the desktop work surface.
In order to provide adequate storage capacity within the work area, drawer units are typically associated with the desktop in several ways. One common method is to secure, such as by bolting, a drawer unit to the underside of the desktop. Another common method is to provide a pedestal unit comprising a bank of drawers which can be a separate unit from the desk unit which is positioned underneath the desktop. Although providing desired storage capacity, these arrangements can create other problems.
More modern workstations provide a desktop which has a height adjustable surface. This is to accommodate the preferences of various individuals so as to place the desktop at a comfortable working height. It is desirable to do this so that a computer keyboard, for example, is placed at the proper height with respect to the individual working at the desktop so as to reduce the chance for discomfort to the worker which may result in common workplace injuries. However, with the storage capacity necessary for these work systems, the common practice of undermounted drawer systems gives rise to certain difficulties. For example, if the drawer unit is mounted to the undersurface of the desk, this adds weight to the adjustable desktop. This added weight can limit the adjustability of the work surface in that the height adjustment mechanism must accommodate the weight of the materials that may be placed within the drawers in addition to the drawer unit itself. Although this problem can be eliminated by providing the separate pedestal drawer assembly positioned underneath the work surface, this arrangement itself presents undesirable consequences for the individual. For example, the pedestal units which are placed underneath the work surface are often be placed within the confines of the supports or legs for the work surface. Thus, this decreases the lateral space underneath the desk which is available for the person to sit comfortably at their desk or to place their legs underneath. Additionally, since the pedestal is of a fixed height, the lower limit of the desktop is restricted by the height of the pedestal, while a gap may be created between the pedestal unit and desktop when the latter is placed in the raised position. In addition, a separate modular storage unit is not available such that the individual using the workstation, in order to personalize the workstation for their particular needs, must purchase separate components in order to provide the needed storage capacity. Assembled in this manner, these components do not afford the optimum configuration for the individual due to the limitations outlined above.
When office desk systems have work surfaces which are adjustable in height, the wireway channel is preferably placed below the lowest portion of the work surface travel, to keep it out of sight and away from the desktop activities. The routing of cabling, such as for electrical power, communication or data, must be provided for in the complete integrated workstation. To transmit the wiring from unit to unit, the respective wireways are typically connected end to end, or in the case of L-shaped corner desks across both desks using two wireways connected at the corner. The typical workstation must accommodate a myriad of electrical and communication equipment, such as a telephone, dictating machine, and a computer with its associated monitor, keyboard and central processing unit (CPU). It is desirable to not only hide these wires within the workstation for visual effect, but to also provide an out-of-the-way location for them so as to not interfere with the available work area. Moreover, it is desirable to separate the electrical power lines from the data and communication lines. Some local building codes specifically require that the power cables be separated from the data communication cables for various reasons, one of which being electromagnetic interference that may arise when these different cables are placed in close proximity to each other.
To establish visual privacy, partition panels or screens are mounted onto the back of the desks. For the file and drawer storage, separate cabinets (such as pedestal units) are nested beneath the desks, forward of the wireways. In addition to requiring extra parts such as for mounting the units, this storage solution restricts storage capacity. If the storage cabinets are suspended from the desktops, their weight must be borne by the desk which severely limits storage capacity by weight. Conversely, if the storage cabinets rest on the floor independently of the desk, the desk legs still obstruct spaces near either end of the work surface, thereby reducing the width available for storage cabinets.
Difficulties may arise after the office system components have been assembled to provide the integrated workstation. It is not uncommon for either new workers to be hired such that more work space must be added, or an individual work space needs to be modified in order to accommodate more equipment or the individual wishes of a new worker. Even though the work space had previously been assembled into a finished unit, access to the cable routing systems must be available to permit these changes without having to disassemble the completed workstation. It is known to provide an open area for the routing of cables within an office system, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,994 issued to Foley et al. It is disclosed therein to provide separate channels or trays underneath the desktop surface for the routing of the various cables. However, the system of Foley et al. presents several disadvantages. Most apparent is that conventional storage units, such as the undermounted drawer units or pedestal units, cannot be placed completely under the work surface due to the fact that the trays extends laterally from the back panel towards the front of the work surface. These trays thus require valuable space underneath the desk unit so as to practically eliminate storage area that an individual may need. Moreover, the lower tray extends into the area where a person may place his or her legs which can limit the mobility of the individual within the work space.
What is needed then is an office system which provides an integrated work space having sufficient storage capacity which can accommodate a desk unit having an adjustable work surface. It would be most desirable to have a separate storage unit which can be linked with a desk unit within an open office system, which provides for ease of running of cabling both before and after the units have been assembled within the office system. Also, such an office system must accommodate privacy screens, for example, so as to provide an individual with a unique and private work space.